Former minister arrested over rape accusation

Indian police on Wednesday arrested a former minister of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, who absconded after being accused of raping a woman and attempting to rape her minor daughter.

Inspector-General of Police (Lucknow Zone) Satish Ganesh said that Gayatri Prajapati, the former minister, was hiding at various locations in the northern state of Haryana and the eastern state of West Bengal for the last 15 days.

“Based on a tip-off, the former minister was arrested by the police from state capital Lucknow this morning,” another senior police official said.

Prajapati had been absconding for over two weeks after the country’s Supreme Court ordered the state police to file a case against him on the allegation of the victim.

The former minister, a senior leader of the regional Samajwadi Party, lost the assembly elections from Amethi, the constituency he won last time.

On Saturday, India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party swept the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, winning 325 of the state’s 403 seats along with its allies.